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Bunta Marui
Background Bunta Marui (丸井 ブン太, Marui Bunta) is a 3rd year student on the Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku team. Marui is a volley specialist and his expertise in the area far exceeds one of the field's best volleyers, Jirō Akutagawa. In fact, he was the one who inspired Jirō's tennis. He is shown to be a very capable singles player like every other member of the Rikkai Dai team. When he plays doubles, he typically partners with Jackal, but partnered with Niō for a match in the Nationals. He also played in the Newcomer's Tournament in his first year. Despite wearing arm weights during matches, he has stamina issues, so he overdoses on sugar by always chewing bubblegum, even when he plays tennis. He also preps for each match by eating an entire cake. Appearance Marui has bright red-pink hair and grey-brown eyes. In the anime his eyes are a bright amethyst/pink. He loves chewing bubble gum and is almost always seen blowing bubble gum even whilst in the middle of a match. He is significantly shorter than most of the other 3rd Year Middle Schoolers in the series and is the shortest member of Rikkai Dai (Despite being the oldest). Personality Marui likse sweets.jpg|Marui with a lollipop as he loves sweets and candy. Marui finishing Ramen.png Marui eating Ramen.png|Marui at Jackal's family restaurant. Marui is one of the most laid-back members in Rikkai, and he tends to be playful and care-free outside of tennis court. Within the bunch of truth-seekers at Rikkai, Marui cannot break his easygoing behaviour. In fact, it is probably due to him having quite a lot of guts. Marui is known to have a sweet tooth as he enjoys eating cakes and sweets but most of all, Marui loves bubblegum. He is always seen chewing and blowing gum and even whilst playing matches. He has a tendency to place a burden of tasks that he appears to set for himself on close friend Jackal. Marui hangs around with Jackal and the two appear to be best friends. As shown in the Another Story OVA, Marui and Jackal would go places together after school and then Marui accompanies Jackal on watching over the wild Kirihara Akaya. He also seems to care for Akaya, as he couldn't leave him alone in his first year and followed him all the way to the arcade and bought him ramen. Marui is shown to be somewhat arrogant of his abilities like some players in the series. He is proud of his volleying skill and is aware that he is perhaps the best middle schooler that focuses their play on volleys. He often calls himself a genius whenever he performs his special shots that stun spectators such as >'Tightrope Walking'. History Two Years Prior to the Storyline Marui began Rikkai Dai along with the rest of the Rikkai 3rd Years as 1st years. He played in the Newcomer's Tournament. Marui won against Jirō Akutagawa. One Year Prior to the Storyline NiouJackalMaruiYagyuu2nd.png|Marui with Jacka, Yagyuu and Niou during Kirihara VS Sanada One Year Prior. Yukimura, Yanagi, Yagyuu, Marui and Jackal as 2nd years.jpg|Marui with Jackal, Yagyuu, Niou, Yukimura and Yagyuu One Year Prior watching Sanada beat Kirihara. Marui and Jackal befriend Kirihara Akaya after Kirihara arrogantly challenges the 3 Monsters and watch him get effortlessly humbled by Yanagi Renji, Sanada Genichiro and Yukimura Seiichi. They treat Kirihara to ramen after seeing him playing at an arcade and explain how Rikkaidai won the Nationals the previous year and that the best players in the club, were in fact the 2nd years who were the 3 monsters at this time and that the seniors that Kirihara thought were the driving force behind Rikkai Dai were nothing compared to their year. Marui watches on with Niou Masaharu, his best friend Jackal, and Yagyuu Hiroshi as Kirihara faces Sanada for a rematch. He is shocked seeing Kirihara go Bloodshot Mode for the first time. Districts Marui and Jirou.jpg|Marui and Akutagawa. The Volley specialists. Marui in action.jpg|Marui during the same time as when the District Tournaments took place. Jirou and Marui at some park bench.jpg Akutagawa and Marui eating.jpg Seña de Marui.png|La Pose de Marui Jirou vs Marui.png Marui vs Jirou.png It is shown that during this time, Marui is challenged to a match by Akutagawa Jirou after the latter visits him in his school ground. However, their matches ends after Jirou falls asleep in the middle of the game, shocking both Marui and the rest of the Rikkaidai team. Kanagawa Prefecturals Marui and Rikkai effortlessly won the Kanagawa prefecture tournament and broke the tournament record for fastest tournament win despite the significant absence of captain Yukimura Seiichi. Regionals 1bf8f70336a3d05d3912bba5.jpg|Marui, Niou and Yagyuu visit Yukimura the day before his operation. Marui and Rikkai Dai cruise through to the finals of the Kanto Regional Tournament with ease and visit captain Yukimura while he is in hospital a day before the final, assuring him that they can win the tournament so he can come back to the team with a trophy before the Nationals. Marui pairs with best friend Jackal Kuwahara for Doubles 2 against Momoshiro Takeshi and Kaido Kaoru pair. He and Jackal shut down Momoshiro and Kaidoh despite the 2nd years' best efforts. He stuns them early on with his Tightrope Walking and volleying skills. He and Jackal win 6-1 after a long match. Nationals Marui, Jackal and Yagyuu explaing to Kirihara.jpg|Marui, Jackal and Yagyuu explaining to Kirihara that they lost their matches on purpose to help Kirihara activate Devil Mode. Marui in the Nationals.jpg|Marui during the final. Rikkai Dai go to the Nationals as underdogs after a shock defeat to Seigaku in their Regional final; however due to the return of their captain Yukimura Seiichi, they expect nothing short of a 3rd Consecutive championship. The tournament begins as a swift walk in the park for Rikkai Dai as they cruise through past all of their opponents until the Semifinals. At the Semifinals, it appears as though Rikkai Dai are having difficulty against their opponents Nagoya Seitoku from the Aichi region,a team where all the regulars are Western Foreigners. At first, it appears Yagyuu Hiroshi is utterly defeated in Singles 3 by one of them. Then in Doubles 2, it appears that Marui and Jackal are also outclassed. With everything seemingly relying on the shoulders 2nd Year Kirihara Akaya who plays agaisnt Nagoya Seitoku's ace Liliadent Krauser. Krauser effortlessly jumps to an early lead and dominated Kirihara with his power and Hopping Ball shot. Until suddenly Kirihara activates Devil Mode and makes a 7-5 comeback annihalating Krauser. Marui, Jackal, Yagyuu and the rest of the team laugh and smile at Kirihara after his match and reveal that they werent playing seriously at all and only lost on purpose just as to make Kirihara activate Devil Mode to help ensure victory for the finals. Rikkai then win the next matches in Doubles 1 and Singles 1 and advance to the finals. Marui and the Rikkai Dai team decline Seigaku's invitation to join them at a Yakiniku bar. Unbeknownst to both teams, they had just turned down an event that would become a large eating contest. Prior to U-17 Camp Kawamura, Jackal, Kirihara and Marui in Kanagawa.jpg|Marui, Jackal, Kirihara and Kawamura stunned by the dog YagyuuMaruiC.jpg|Marui and Yagyuu in their school festival. Sometime prior to the U-17 camp, Marui, Jackal, and Kirihara shop for materials for Rikkai's Ocean Festival. While shopping for materials, Marui and Jackal bump into Kawamura Takashi of Seigaku who was visiting a relative in a hospital in Kanagawa. Kirihara arrives shortly and suddenly a dog jumps into a Kirihara and runs away with the stuffed toy that was in Kirihara's hand. The four of them give chase to the dog until Kirihara is able to tackle the dog and retrieve it in the end. During the Festival, Marui plays Cinderella's (played by Kirihara) evil step-sister alongside Yagyuu, the other evil step sister. This can be found in the PairPuri anime. Later on, the Rikkai Regulars continue training after the Nationals. During this time shown in the Pair Puri, Yukimura encouraged his teammates to have fun while playing tennis, however they comically went about it the wrong way and decided to scrap the idea. Later, Yanagi introduced the Rikkai Dai tennis club members to Inui Juice, after staying by Inui Sadaharu's house the night before. Yukimura arrives to a defeated club as Marui and all the other members that tasted the juice were unable to stand, besides Sanada who was in tears after tasting it but stayed standing nonetheless. U-17 Camp Marui and all of the Rikkai Dai regulars Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichiro, Yanagi Renji, Yagyuu Hiroshi, Niou Masaharu, Jackal Kuwahara and Kirihara Akaya receive invitations to the All-Japan Juniors Training Camp. He plays against an unknown high schooler that is awed by Marui's Tight Rope Walking technique. Marui and all of the 50 middle schoolers who were there at the time were able to catch a ball from the helicopter in a game where those without a ball must go home. The Mental Coach arrives and declares that all middle schoolers must pair up. He then coldly says that the person they have paired with, is their opponent in a tie-break game and the loser must go home. Marui as expected paired with best friend Jackal. Marui is victorious after a tight game winning just 10-8. He and the rest of the Rikkaidai regulars watch the match between Yanagi and Kirihara. Jackal is believed to be sent home while Marui stays and defeats his next high school opponents in the Player Shuffles that all the winning Middle Schoolers take part in easily and reaches the 6th Court along with fellow Rikkai Dai teammates Yagyuu and Yukimura. While Jackal goes to the mountains with all the other Middle school losers and comes back to the camp as a member of the 2nd Court. U-17 Camp Revolution Marui is present with all the other members of the camp at the main court to see the return of the Top 10 and are also present when it is revealed that Middle Schoolers have replaced No.s 11-19. Marui later bumps into Kite Eishiro when looking to have quick practice session. Genius 10 Challenge After Atobe Keigo and Niou defeat Ochi Tsukimitsu and Mouri Juzaburo, Gin is defeated at the hands of Duke Watanabe, Kite and Marui prepare to take on Atsukyo Tono and Kimijima Ikuto for the 3rd Match. The audience comment that Kite and Marui make a good doubles pair. Soon however, Kite seems to betray Marui, making it a 3-on-1 game. Kite states that he is acting thus simply because Kimijima asked him to betray Marui. However it was also later revealed that Kimijima was sick and tired of having Atsukyo as his doubles partner and asked Kite to pretend to betray Marui so as to find the perfect opportunity to injure Atsukyo. Just as Kite was preparing to give Atsukyo such a blow however, Marui, pushed to his limits, is able to achieve a new skill, "Perfect Fortress", blocking all the shots at the net, preventing Kite from reaching the ball. Kite is moved by Marui's willpower and when Kimijima lobs a ball high to pass Marui, instead of attacking Marui again he uses his Habu and hits Kimijima instead. From this point on, the two begin to work together, establishing a bond of trust between them, with Marui staying at the net and Kite gets any ball that goes over his head. Marui blocks several of Atsukyo's "Executions", but falls victim when Atsukyo throws his racket at his right eye. Still willing to play the match, he goes back in with a bandage over it. However, with his right eye covered, his Perfect Fortress is now vulnerable on that side. As Atsukyo prepares to show off more of his "Executions", Kite runs in front of Marui and takes the hit in the face. Kite then tells Marui to stay back and let him get the front. Marui realizes that Kite feels guilty for his actions earlier in the match and is seeing this as a way to redeem himself. When Kite takes the last "Execution" Technique, Seppuku, Kimijima interferes with Atsukyo's shot and hits it to Marui, who then smashes the ball into Atsukyo's left kneecap. It is then revealed that like Kite, Marui also made a deal with Kimijima; if Marui smashes the ball into Atsukyo's left knee, then Kimijima will arrange for Yukimura to receive a special surgery in America that will fully heal him of his disease. The match is then finished by Kimijima, and he discreetly tosses Atsukyo's U-17 Badge at Marui's feet. Marui proceeds to take Kite to receive treatment as Kimijima tells him that someone should be contacting Yukimura about the surgery within a few days. Tennis Record 2008 Official Middle School Tournaments *NOTE-1 No result due to Rikkai already winning 3 sets. U-17 Camp Results Playing Style and Techniques Marui is widely viewed as the best Serve and Volley style player in Middle School Japan. His wide range of volleys always seem to shock both opponents and spectators. Tightrope Walking (Tsunawatari) A volley where the ball hits the cord and neatly rolls along the top of the net away from the opponent before dropping to the ground. Iron Pole Strike (Tetchuu-Ate) A similar volley to Tightrope Walking, where the ball bounces off the iron pole at the end of the net. Temporal Difference Hell (Myougi Jikansa Jigoku) A fake smash where he changes the angle of collision at the last second, to make it impossible to predict its direction. He allows the ball to go past his head, and swings his arm backwards up into the air behind and returns the ball making the course nearly impossible to predict. Super Rising Marui returns the ball before it bounces to the highest point. As a result, his opponents have less time to react. He used this move against Takeshi Momoshiro's Dunk Smash. Wonder Castle Defensa Impenetrable Marui.png|Defensa Impenetrable Defensa Impenetrable Marui 1.png|in Action 1 A defensive move. This move involves the use of Marui's advanced net play as he uses his amazing reflexes to hit catch all shots that come to him by the net. The only way to avoid Wonder Castle is to lob Marui. This move was created by Marui when he and Kite decide to train together. It was first seen and used however against Kimijima and Tohno in the match to decide the No.s 7 & 8 of U-17 Japan. Personal Information *Height: 164 cm *Weight: 62 kg *Horoscope sign: Aries *Blood type: B *Best Subjects: Japanese, Music *Worst Subjects: Science, Mathematics *Places often visited in school: Home Economics Room *Elementary School: Kanagawa Third (Dai-san) Elementary School *Favourite Colour: Red *Favourite Food: Everything! *Favourite Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean *Favourite Book: Manga, current trending novels *Favourite Music: ORANGE RANGE *Favourite Type: Girls who are sweet, quiet and innocent. And those who give him food and presents. *Place you want to go for dates: Amusement Park *Thing you want most now: Cotton candy machine *Routine duties: Playing with younger brothers *Dislikes / bad at: Physical labour *Skills outside of tennis: Baking cakes, Bowling, Cycling *Favourite Shoes: Wilson Crossfire DST 02 (S1121X) *Favourite Racket: Wilson Triad 3 115 *Father's occupation: Employee at a manufacturing company Daily School Life *05:50 - Rises from bed, makes a bento *06:30 - Wakes up his little brothers and has breakfast together with them *07:00 - Goes to school, eats sweets after morning practice *08:30 - First Period: Social Studies - Economics *09:30 - Second Period: Classical Literature (forgets his dictionary and borrows from Yanagi) *10:20 - Eats the donuts (seasonal strawberry chocolate) he bought during break time *10:40 - Third Period: Cooking Practice - Cookies *11:40 - Fourth Period: Physical Education - Basketball with Class A *12:30 - Lunch Break: Has his bento, some purchased bread, and pudding in the classroom *12:50 - Does light tennis strokes with the first-year students as exercise to help with digestion *13:30 - Fifth Period: English *14:30 - Sixth Period: Science - Experiment *15:30 - Secretly goes to a cheap sweets shop with Jackal *15:50 - Club Activities: Net play practice *18:00 - Drops by a cake shop along the way *19:00 - Returns home after visiting a convenience store, dinner *19:30 - Plays pro wrestling with his little brothers *20:30 - After bathing, reads the manga he borrowed from Kirihara *23:00 - Goes to bed Note from Nio: He really eats often. He should pay attention to his weight. He ate the sweets that he got from some girls too ... how scary. Note from Yuuta: I never thought that I'd run into him in a place like this... It's a famous shop, but I wonder if Marui-san is a regular customer? Trivia *He is one of the shortest members of Rikkaidai, even though he's the oldest. *He placed 11th in the third character polls, and 18th in the fourth. However his highest ranking is 5th in the first New Prince of Tennis popularity poll. *In Musical Tennis no Ōjisama, Marui is played by Kiriyama Renn and Acaba Mio, and is being portrayed in the second season musicals by Yasukawa Junpei. *When playing soccer, he plays the striker position. Gallery Taisetsu na Hito e.jpeg|Taisetsu na Hito e character song Murai.jpg|Bunta after performing Metal Pole Strike Category:Characters Category:Tennis Player Category:Rikkaidai Tennis Club Member Category:Middle Schooler Category:3rd Year Middle School Category:U-17 Camp Category:Serve and Volley Category:Right-Handed Category:Kanto Players Category:Kanagawa Players Category:Doubles Specialists Category:Capable with Singles and Doubles Category:2nd Stringers